Eel Tankmates

[BIGgourami]

ballin.. so that suggestion of an emperor snapper could actually work out..if/when that ever happens... PICS!!!!

 

[Fish727Nole]

That is a gorgeous eel!!! What a specimen! I have snowflake eels, 5 years old now... and I reccomend the triggerfish all the way. They have such personality and are always swimming up top down low all around the tank. I agree with the person that said damsels, they are way too quick and if anything it would give your buddy something to chase around. Keep me posted and new pics! Good luck.

 

[metalyx]

By request here are some pics. I'm moving her soon into a larger tank, so once I do I'll get some better body shots.

 

[jojo_nature]

She's a stunner !

 

[Tangs Rule]

She is a beauty. I am curious, has she eaten any of your fish yet? Tessalatta's are notorious for eating any fish that will fit in their mouth. Yes, they have poor eyesight but they hunt at night while the other fish are resting in the rockwork.

 

[metalyx]

I've always had two domino damsels in the tank, one very large and one very small. I added 4 more damsels this past week including 2 more domino damsels in the mix. I have three of the dominoes left including the two originals and two of the damsels just up and died on me. She may have eaten them but they establish "rank" by swishing their tails in her face. It's not uncommon to see the larger one doing so and she will snap at him but as of yet I haven't seen her catch one. At night she tends to rove the tank while they hide in the rocks so not much in the way of pursuit, but then again two of them are unaccounted for.

I moved her out of the previous tank into a bowfront with a separated sump this weekend and may keep her in that for a while as she has already rearranged my rocks and has some room to swim for now. I'll put up pics as soon as I can.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Tessalatta's have very poor eye sight. They usually hunt at night when your other fish are sleeping and eat them that way. Their sense of smell is amazing. They also pick off fish during feeding time if you do not use a feeding stick. But they sure are one of the best looking eels. I have witnessed them eat a lionfish, a panther grouper and a clown trigger. All of those fish looked too big to fit in the eels mouth. Just make sure the fish you add to your tank are at least 3x the size of her mouth.

 

[metalyx]

It's funny you mention that. I've been reading up on damsel aggression and think more of them have succumbed to each other than the eel eating them. In my size of tank however, I'd love to have some dither fish (jeez SW dithers are expensive) that I would not be overly heartbroken at if I lost. I did toss in a Javanese damsel that's in at 6 inches longish. The smaller damsel are not harassing it and it chills out in one of the eels caves so far without being eaten. I've got to ask at this point, I've seen very large sgt. majors and of course javanese, are there any other damsels that get that big? Will I have the same aggression problem if I mix them?

Thanks everyone and remember vote for #7, vote for POTM change. (HA!)

 

[Tangs Rule]

There may be other damsels that get bigger, but none that I am aware of. I am not a big damsel fan. The 2 large ones that I know of are the domino and sgt. major.